Before teaching campfire cooking to a group, it is important you get to know the clients as individuals and how they interact as a group. With this information you will be able to consider the best and safest teaching approach. When cooking careful consideration of the safety element is essential. When planning a session you may wish to consider:
- Location: Think carefully about the location of the fire and how your fire circle is structured to keep the clients safe during the activity.
- Clear Safety Rules: Ensure you have set and embedded your rules for safety around the fire circle. You may wish to set additional rules for when cooking around the fire. You will also need to cover hygiene and waste disposal with the group before they start the activity.
- Group size: When teaching around a fire you may want to model to a smaller group, whilst others complete another activity. If providing the clients with more independence you may also want to consider the size of the group they are working in, big groups will find it more difficult to cook safely around the fire.
- Level of Supervision: Think carefully about the level of supervision you are giving. For young groups, groups who are less experienced and those that display challenging behaviour you may consider providing more supervision and guidance. Older and more experienced groups may require little to no supervision.
- Complexity of Activity: When choosing the recipe ensure you consider the complexity of the recipe as well as the cooking method. The complexity of both recipe and method should be linked to the experience of the group.
- Teaching Sequence: You need to consider how you will teach the skill. Will you cook something from start to finish in one go, provide prompt sheets, brake the exercise into stages or allow groups to plan their own cooking from start to finish. The method you choose will depend on the group you are teaching.